Short Argument Essay: Anti-Vaccination

Nowadays, there are many vaccines invented by different scientists. Vaccines are so much in demand that even a simple flu has a certain vaccine. They have been invented to protect us. Its main function is to build our immune system and allow it to work against different kinds of bacteria. However instead of helping us fight against infection and certain diseases, vaccines can be the main cause of infection and diseases. Because of its live-attenuated organism, which means the pathogens were partially killed to lessen the harmful effects, it can still trigger an infection particularly with those who has a very weak immune system. Thus, vaccines should not be given to young infants because of their high risk of acquiring an infection that could eventually cause them long term effects. Rather, vaccinations should be delayed until the infant is a toddler (18 months to 3 years), and he has fully stabilized his immune system.

Vaccines started since the ancient times. However, none was being recorded during that time. A practicing naturopath, osteopath and accupuncturist Leon Chaitow claim in his book Vaccination and Immunization that the first recorded vaccine was invented by Edward Jenner, who is the father of immunology. He developed the first vaccine, which is the smallpox vaccine, by exposing the person to the cowpox bacteria. Jenner discovered that the body could develop its own protection from the disease once it is exposed to the little amount of the microorganism. This discovery became very popular that it had every newborn infant vaccinated. However, this did not last. There were outbreaks of smallpox that led to banning of this procedure (4-5). According to Henry Lindlahr, who founded the Lindlahr Sanitarium:

In the years 1870 -1 smallpox was rampant in Germany. Over one million persons had the disease and 120,000 died. 96% of these had been vaccinated, and only 4% had not been so ‘protected’. Most of the victims were vaccinated, once at least, shortly before they rook the disease. Bismark, the Chancellor of Germany, sent an address to the Governments of the various German states, in which it was stated that numerous eczematous diseases were the result of the vaccination, and that ‘the hopes placed in the efficacy of the cowpox virus’ as preventive of smallpox have proved entirely deceptive’. (qtd. in Vaccination and Immunization 5)

Notwithstanding this prohibition, Louis Pasteur, who is a French chemist and father of microbiology, roused again the methodology of immunization through the process of vaccination. However, being a French chemist is not credible enough to rekindle a once prohibited procedure on human beings. People who handle human bodies should be more credible and understand the physiology of the human body better. In further support of this, Archie Kalokerinos, an Australian physician, and Glen Dettman, an Australian pathologist and medical writer, have described the controversy:

Modern medicine is based on Pasteur’s germ theory of disease- a specific organism causes a specific disease and a specific vaccine gives protection. Shades of doubt concerning the validity of this dogma were seen when we observed that some Aboriginal children did not get protection and, in fact, died when vaccines were administered. ( qtd. in Vaccination and Immunization 9)

History itself showed us that there were pitfalls in the invention of vaccines. People died because of this invention particularly very young innocent children, who just wanted to build their immune system from the deadly diseases, yet they ended up in death. Perhaps, if vaccination was delayed until their immune systems were fully matured they could have avoided death.

Aside from the history of vaccines are the accusations that vaccines can protect us on a short term basis but will eventually show ill effects in the long term. A good example of these are the vaccines for measles, mumps, rubella or MMR and polio vaccines. MMR vaccines contain live microorganisms. According to one article in the Journal of the American Medical Association, written by Bridget Kuahn, “The MMR vaccine can cause febrile seizures and this vaccine can cause inflammation in some individuals with severe immune deficiencies” (1427). This statement certainly shows us that vaccines have some adverse effects in the brain, which the public presume it as a cause of autism. Aside from this, is that polio vaccine can trigger the disease itself. Despite of the total eradication of polio, there is no doubt that polio can start the epidemic again. This is due to the fact that polio vaccine contains killed or inactivated polio microorganisms. With this in mind, the virulence or the strength of the microorganism to cause disease may be weak but it can still trigger an infection specially if the immune system is immature or weak. A good example of this is the article entitled, Vaccines: The Real Issues in Vaccine Safety, written by Roberta Kwok, a freelance writer in Burlingame, California. In her article, she wrote a situation about John Salamone who had his son vaccinated with polio vaccine and eventually contracted the disease. She states, “Salamone found out first-hand that vaccines do have real, rare side effects when he saw his infant son, David, become weak and unable to crawl shortly after receiving the oral polio vaccine in 1990. After about two years of physical therapy and doctors’ visits, Salamone learned that owing to a weakened immune system, David had contracted polio from the vaccine” (436-438). This situation shows that vaccines cannot protect us instead can cause the disease particularly if the immune system is weak or immature. Having the vaccine enter our body, regardless of it being killed or live microorganism will not help us from protecting our immune system rather it can destroy us. Thus, it is preferable to delay vaccines until the immune system is strongly mature to build antibodies in defense to the killed and live microorganisms.

Moreover, there were famous personalities that led the campaign against vaccines. Robert Kennedy, a famous personality in the US politics, believed that vaccines are unsafe particularly vaccines for mumps, measles, and rubella or MMR due to its component thimerosal. Thimerosal is a preservative for vaccines, which prevents contamination, but thimerosal contains mercury that is neurotoxic or harmful for the brain. He claimed, “Government health agencies colluded with Big Pharma to hide the risks of thimerosal from the public. . . . A chilling case study of institutional arrogance, power, and greed” (qtd. in Vaccination Nation). Hence, it led him to conclude that the children were poisoned by the pharmaceutical industry. Because vaccines can possibly be neurotoxic, it raised new issues regarding vaccines causing autism. David Kirby, a journalist who supported an autism activist organization, claimed that “[s]ome small subgroup of children might have a particular vulnerability to vaccines and yet be missed by epidemiological studies” (qtd. in Vaccination Nation). Certainly, vaccines react to different kinds of bodies, and even if there are different kinds of studies done, there is no doubt that the scope of these studies will miss to cover all the consumers of vaccines. Thus, David Kirby stood his ground with regards to thimerosal in vaccines causing autism. Possibly, children who contracted autism and other long term illnesses were the ones who received the vaccination at an early age. Therefore, it is advisable to wait until the children’s vital organs are fully matured in order to handle very well the stress that the microorganisms can cause.

Given all the arguments and issues raised, it is with full conviction that vaccines should be delayed until when the infant is a toddler. This is due to the fact that infants still have immature immune system and immature vital organs that could place them at high risk of acquiring an infection that could eventually cause them long term effects. Definitely, there are no parents who want their children to be poisoned by a single vaccine or worst see their children battling over autism or other long-term diseases. It is time to realize that this procedure is not safe and should not be given to our young innocent children at a very early age.